


Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall

by Stormtrooperinclogs



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: A tiny bit of fluff, Angst, Crying, F/M, It's mostly angst - Freeform, Mentions of Pregnancy, Smoking, but not very much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22295044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormtrooperinclogs/pseuds/Stormtrooperinclogs
Summary: When Veronica tells John that he's going to be a father, he doesn't know what to do next.
Relationships: John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: Johnica Week 2020





	Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for Johnica week using the prompt "The Proposal". This is by far the angstiest thing I've ever written. Enjoy!

John sat alone in the studio, staring off into space as he absent-mindedly puffed on a cigarette. He knew the others would be arriving soon, but he wanted to be alone for a few more minutes.

Sooner than he would’ve liked, the door swung open and his bandmates ended his silence.

“Whatcha doin’ in the dark, mate?” Roger asked as he flicked on the lights.

John glanced over at him, but said nothing, turning his gaze back to the emptiness before him.

“Something wrong, Deaky?” Freddie sat down beside the bass player with a concerned look on his face.

John took a long, shaky breath and ashed the cigarette, looking up at the singer. “Ronnie and I are getting married,”

“Darling, I didn’t know you were planning to propose!” Freddie gasped, flashing his toothy grin. “What brought this on?”

After a long silence, John sighed deeply and mumbled “Sometimes the unexpected happens and the only way you can go is forward,” before resuming his blank stare.

Freddie looked around the room, hoping for a translation. Roger and Brian shrugged, clearly just as confused.

“John?” Brian started, hesitantly approaching his friend. “What does that mean?”

John gave no response to the curly-haired man’s question. Instead, he halfheartedly reached a trembling hand toward the pack of cigarettes on the table, stopping about halfway and letting it fall back to his side.

“John..?” Brian tried again.

“ _ She’s pregnant alright!?! _ ” the bass player snapped, turning to face the guitarist with watering eyes. “She’s pregnant.” he buried his face in Freddie’s shoulder as his tears were finally allowed to fall. John’s whole body shook as he sobbed in Freddie’s embrace. The singer gently stroked the younger man’s hair as he wept.

The truth was, John  _ wasn’t _ planning to propose anytime soon. Sure, he loved Ronnie, but they hadn’t been dating for very long, and it was probably  _ way too soon _ to talk about spending the rest of their lives together. But John felt that he didn’t really have a choice. Ronnie was pregnant. And he knew that marrying her was the right thing to do. But why did this have to happen  _ now? _ Queen was currently getting screwed over so badly by their manager that there was no way in hell John could even  _ afford _ a child. They were living in a one-room flat for christ’s sake! People can’t raise children in one-room flats!

“Shh, shh. Everything’s gonna be okay,” Freddie cooed, wiping a tear from the bass player’s cheek. “Now, why don’t you tell us what happened?”

***

“Hi honey, how was your day?” Ronnie called as she heard the door open.

“It was good.” John set his bass against the wall and gave Ronnie a peck on the cheek. “Something wrong, love?” he asked as she stiffened at his touch.

“John,” she sighed. “We need to talk…”

“Oh-uh… okay,” he stammered.

John felt his heart drop at her words. We need to talk. That almost always meant something bad. His thoughts immediately went to the worst-case scenario. She  _ had _ been sick for a while. Maybe it was something serious.  _ Maybe she was dying. _ His head raced with all of the horrible possibilities. Each scene that flashed through his mind was more heartbreaking than the last. He saw Ronnie laying in a hospital bed, too weak to stand, unconscious in the ICU, losing her hair from chemotherapy, or perhaps the worst one of all,  _ maybe she wanted to break up with him _ . 

His heart was beating out of his chest as she led him over to their bed.

“Maybe you should sit down,” Ronnie suggested.

John shook his head. “Just tell me what happened,”

“Well-” she looked around the room as if the right words would be written on the walls. “-I finally found out why I haven’t been feeling well for the last few weeks…”

He swallowed hard. “Is it serious?”

She nodded, taking both of his hands. “I’m pregnant,”

While he was relieved that Ronnie wasn’t dying, this wasn’t much of an alternative. He suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous, and before he understood what was happening to him, he fainted.

“John?” she knelt down beside where he lay and gently touched his face. “John, are you alright?”

When he didn’t wake up, Ronnie began crying softly, her tears staining his cheeks as well as her own. She knew her news was surprising, but there was no way she could’ve predicted this reaction from her boyfriend. John was usually so level-headed about things, and this was so out of character for him. 

“R… Ronnie?” he mumbled as he returned to reality. 

“I’m here,” she reassured him, her hand running through his hair.

“Are you really..? Are… are we..?” 

“Yes,”

“What are we gonna do?” he asked, sitting up.

“I don’t know,” was the only thing she could think to say.

John patted his pockets, searching for his cigarettes. With a small “aha!” he produced the pack, not bothering to contain his disappointment when it was revealed to be empty. He grabbed his wallet and jacket, and he headed out into the night, leaving poor Veronica alone in their flat.

The walk to the petrol station only took a few minutes, and soon he had a freshly-lit cig between his lips.

Instead of going straight home, John decided to walk around for a bit to help clear his head. In a few short minutes, he went from a man with a sick girlfriend to a father-to-be. It was all so overwhelming. What  _ were _ they going to do? He and Ronnie were both Catholic, so not keeping it wasn’t an option. What would their families say when they found out? Oh shit.  _ Their families. _ Ronnie’s parents didn’t like John much to begin with. Now add an illegitimate grandchild into the mix. They were going to be furious with him.

His train of thought was interrupted by a joyful squeal from the playground across the street. He turned to see a young father, maybe only a few years older than himself, pushing his toddler on the swings, laughing as the child screamed “higher!”. John couldn’t help but imagine himself in the other man’s place; having a fun, family outing with his own baby. 

John smiled at this thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have a baby. After all, he liked kids well enough, and, assuming Ronnie’s parents didn’t decide to kill him, they would have plenty of help. And “Killer Queen” was doing really well on the charts, the band was  _ bound _ to get a raise soon. While it was true that most would consider the couple “too young” for kids, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe he and Ronnie would come through this, stronger and more in love than ever. Maybe they were going to be alright.

John stopped dead in his tracks.  _ Ronnie. _ Right after she told him the news he just  _ left _ . She was all alone in their flat, and John had been gone for a while. He could only imagine what she must be thinking right now. He knew that he was going to have to make this up to her,  _ but how? _

As he continued, he tried to think of something to do for her. It was clear that flowers weren’t going to suffice after walking out on her like that. He would have to do something really special to prove that he wasn’t upset about the pregnancy. She would probably be more willing to forgive him if he came back with food, but would that be enough? Maybe flowers  _ and _ food? No, John needed to think bigger. 

Then something shiny caught his eye. He turned to see the window display of a jewelry store. Ronnie wasn’t much of a jewelry person, so this idea was almost immediately dismissed. Then he found the source of the glint. It was a beautiful diamond ring next to a sign that read “When the time is right, get her something special”. 

“ _ That’s it! _ ” John thought. “ _ I’ll ask her to marry me! _ ”

He mentally thanked the universe for the idea and entered the shop.

It was perfect. A proposal would show Ronnie that he was going to support her no matter what, and it might appease her family by showing that he was serious about their relationship. 

The ring in the display ended up being too expensive, but eventually he settled on a different one. It was a simple gold band with a small stone that may or may not have been real, but it was the best one he could afford. He made a mental note to replace it with a better one as soon as he could. 

With the ring in his pocket, John marched home with a new determination. He was still terrified about having a baby at 23, but he wasn’t about to make that Veronica’s problem. She had enough to worry about. She was the one who would have to deal with everything that came with pregnancy and birth, all John had to do was hold her hand and assure her that he still loved her. 

On the way home, John also picked up a small bouquet of daisies and an order of cashew chicken, Ronnie’s favorite. He hoped that it would be enough to earn her forgiveness for walking out so abruptly. 

When he reached their flat, he smoothed his hair in the reflection of a nearby window, and carefully opened the door. He found Ronnie almost immediately. She was sitting on the couch, red-faced and sniffling. Clearly, she had been crying while John was out. As if he needed more reasons to feel guilty.

“Ronnie..?” he spoke cautiously. “I’m back…”

As soon as she saw him, she jumped off the couch and ran into his embrace. “You said you would only be out for a few minutes,” she blubbered as fresh tears welled in her eyes. “But you were gone for  _ hours _ ,”

John looked at the clock and saw it had been about 45 minutes since he left. But pointing that out seemed like a great way to ensure that this baby would be an only child. 

“I brought food,” he spoke into her hair.

“Is it to apologize for getting me pregnant or for running away?” she giggled, wiping her eyes.

“Running away. This-” he got down on one knee, setting aside the food and flowers, and pulled out the ring box. “-is for getting you pregnant,”

“John… what?”

“Veronica Agnes Mary Tetzlaff, I know this isn’t exactly how we imagined our lives would be. I know these next few years are going to be hard, and honestly, I’m terrified. But I love you and I want you to know that I’ll be there for you, no matter what. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to write a long, beautiful speech listing every reason why you’re the most important person in my life. You’re my best friend, my true love, and now you’re the mother of my child. There’s no one I’d rather do this with than you. Will you marry me?”

Ronnie stood there with her hand over her mouth for what felt to both of them like an eternity. After John’s initial reaction, this was the last thing she expected from him. When he didn’t come back after leaving for cigarettes, she feared that maybe he wasn’t going to come back at all. Now he was down on one knee holding _ an engagement ring _ . 

“Yes,” she whispered as yet more tears began to fall. “ _ Ohmygod yes! _ ”

John kissed his fianceé and slipped the ring onto her finger, and Ronnie threw her arms around him, burying her damp face into his neck. Her quiet tears evolved into full-blown sobs of pure joy. 

“I’m so sorry for freaking out earlier,” he explained. “I’m still scared, but I’m here for you. Both of you.” John placed a hand on Ronnie’s stomach to emphasize his point.

“It’s okay to be scared. I am too,” she admitted.

“We’ll get through this. Together,”

“I love you,”

“I love you too,”

***

“You did the right thing, Deaky,” Freddie assured him as the bassist finished his story.

“I know. But why did this have to happen  _ now? _ ” John asked.

“Who knows,” Roger interjected. “But you’re gonna be a great dad,”

“You think so?”

“Of course we do,” Brian said. “And we’ll help with anything you need,”

“Thanks,”

While it was shocking for the band to learn that their youngest member would be the first to become a father, the others wanted to support the Deacon family any way they could. They decided they would try to meet with their manager and ask for more money. Nobody in the music industry would be so cruel as to deny a newlywed couple and their infant child, right?


End file.
